Updated Statement on Scout Schultz

Please note: this statement has been updated to include biphobia. The Consortium Board apologies for not explicitly naming this form of violence in our first message, especially in light of the fact that Scout identified as bisexual and because, as Robyn Ochs reminded us, data shows clearly that bi+ youth exhibit very high levels of minority stress.

Dear Membership,

The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals is deeply saddened and troubled by the death of Scout Schultz (they/them/theirs), a fourth-year engineering student at the Georgia Institute of Technology who proudly and publicly identified as bisexual, intersex, and non-binary. Scout was the president of the Pride Alliance at Georgia Tech and an important presence in the LGBTQIA+ community.

We want to offer our support and love to our colleagues at Georgia Tech, and we stand in solidarity and offer affirmation to all of our members and communities. We recognize the absolute reality that this could happen on any of our campuses at any time, and we know this situation is likely to impact students across the country as we all process the loss of Scout. There is no textbook or course that prepares us to respond to such instances that spark feelings of pain, anger, grief, fear, and a myriad of other emotions, both in ourselves and in the students and communities to whom we dedicate ourselves in service.

As a board, we are particularly concerned about the response and actions of campus police officers in this tragedy. The use of deadly violence against a student experiencing a mental health crisis, coupled with the lack of de-escalation tactics utilized in the situation, is alarming. We frequently see students in crisis when homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and racism are wreaking havoc on their mental health. This could have been prevented by a deeper awareness, understanding, and competency when working with our communities on campus and beyond. From the streets of St. Louis to our campuses, we know police brutality and violence against our communities is systemic and justice is rarely served. Any authorities whose use of power interrupts what should be a common mission to foster student resilience and persistence need to be held accountable.

We acknowledge and appreciate the hard work that you’re doing and we want to offer community space and resources to support you. Please join us for a conference call for our membership on Monday, October 2nd from 1pm-2:30pm EST /10am-11:30am PST/12pm-1:30pm CSTfor connection and discussion about our collective promising practices for crisis response.

At the scheduled date and time of the meeting, dial into the conference line. When prompted, enter the Access Code followed by the pound key.

To join the online meeting, click on the meeting link listed above and follow the prompts to join the meeting.

For 24/7 customer service please call 844-844-1322

We believe that we can make change as a community of connected practitioners. In addition, see the document Promising practices in crisis response and add your own statements, programs, and other insights to learn and support your colleagues. We are here for you; please let us know what else you need.